Marketing is a must for allbusinesses, especially for independent tire dealerships that typically don’thave the financial resources of the big-box retailers. So, if you’re trying tosave on marketing materials, here are a few tips:
• Before investing in thehighest quality, four-color brochure you can afford, consider first a moremodest, less expensive one- or two-color brochure or flyer.
• Some local print shops mayhave a graphics staff and may offer reduced costs in conjunction with printing.If you hire an outside graphics specialist, offer to barter your services fortheirs. For example, offer them a free tire rotation or oil change in exchangefor a brochure design.
• If you decide to advertiseon TV or radio, target your exposure to one TV channel and one radio station atfirst, then expand your air time as business picks up.
• If you want to design aWeb site for your business, start rather conservatively. Carefully calculatecosts for design, hosting and on-going maintenance. When working with Webdesigners, tell them to design the site flexibly so that you can expand itsscope and capacity steadily as your business grows.
Gift Certificate Marketing
Offering gift certificatesis one innovative marketing concept you may want to consider. The basic conceptis simple: Offer your customers pre-printed gift certificates that they canpurchase as gifts for family, friends and business associates. The dollaramount of the certificate is equivalent to cash at your store.
Gift certificates offerthree undeniable advantages. First, they’re convenient for people who don’tknow what gift to buy. Second, certificates provide your dealership withimmediate cash; you don’t have to supply product or service until later. Moneyreceived from the purchase of gift certificates is, in a way, an interest-freeloan. And, third, gift certificates widen your customer base.
You can purchase blank,generic gift certificates at most office-supply stores. These are adequate butwill not have your shop’s name imprinted on each certificate. Though they aremore expensive, higher-quality gift certificates with your company’s nameprinted on them provide an extra touch of elegance and are perceived bycustomers as valuable. These can be purchased at many printing or specialtyadvertising stores. Or you can create your own. Be sure to put your address andphone number on each certificate to make it easy for customers to find you.
Instead of printingspecific, pre-determined dollar amounts on certificates, it’s best to have ablank line on each certificate so an employee can fill in the gift amount. Thisprovides greater flexibility to the customer. Always have an employee ormanager hand sign each certificate to discourage forgeries.
Discount coupons, offering apercentage discount off of regular price, are close relatives of giftcertificates. You can present discount coupons at the point of sale, but theyare usually offered as incentives in mailings and advertisements. They can alsobe passed out at community events or meetings with estimates for future vehicleservice.
– Source: Tire ReviewBusiness Toolbox
